At this point in life, the year 2022, no one is going to discover that money moves the world. But assuming that principle should not prevent raising your voice: with the ‘blackout’ at the Barcelona tests, F1 has made the fans ugly.
After experiencing a championship outcome that will be remembered for decades, coupled with a new regulation that aims to even things out, the expectation for the 2022 course is greater than ever. Formula 1 experienced a boom at the end of 2021 that was dreamed of by the owners of the category, but instead of taking advantage of the wave in this 2022 they have directly decided to return to the shore.
After a huge main course and spectacular dessert last year, this 2022 starts for fans without the reunion with the flavor of F1, without the special appetizer that is always the preseason.
Preventing the broadcast of the Barcelona tests, making them ugly by considering them a shakedown by giving the Bahrain tests the title of ‘official tests’ and above all, closing it to the public, goes against the intention of the F1 bosses to expand more and more and reach the more people, the better.
It is not that every year the fans go en masse to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in February, and of course the tests have not historically been broadcast and F1 has remained alive, but differentiating in this way the tests that will take place in Montmeló with the that the Bahrain International Circuit will experience later is an outrage.
That is to say, what squeaks (and bothers) is that one week, one country, yes… and the other no.
The obvious thing is that Bahrain has wanted the whole focus so that the world knows the new single-seaters, it has sought to create the maximum suspense and the way to do it was by asking F1 to ‘silence’ the tests that are held in Spain.
Was there no other way? Changing the dates entails logistical problems, and besides, Bahrain is precisely the venue for the first race, only a week after the tests, but surely there was an option for them to take the first flashes without leaving Barcelona, and especially Barcelona. the fans who will not be able to live neither from the stands nor from the TV, without theirs.
In no analysis can it be ignored that Formula 1 is a company and as such, always seeks the greatest benefits. He has never minded changing mythical and crowded circuits for other tracks in countries without tradition, where the stands looked semi-empty or completely empty, and his pulse will never shake when it comes to taking unpopular measures. But it should not be forgotten that, although there are other ways to get to the money, caring for and pampering the gigantic fan base is not only fair, but also logical.
Because in the end, more than the media (whether they get to go or not, they will have information about what happens there), the rudeness is to the fans. And although all kinds of justifications and defenses have already been read… no one will have dared to talk about the pandemic, right? It would be insulting to mention it as a reason for testing behind closed doors while concerts and stadiums fill up.
And are we sure that there will not be some audacious amateur who gets images and shares them on social networks? Without inciting anyone to do anything illegal, it would have some poetic justice.
The owners of F1 had taken great steps towards bringing an already elitist sport closer to the fans, but suddenly they have taken a wrong step, or taken a step backwards, with a decision that is only explained by money and that is not has possible justification. What is sport without the fans?
